Addie on the Inside is the story of 7th grader Addie. At her school, she is an outcast. Addie believes in expressing yourself, following your true voice, and standing up for what you think is right. Unfortunately, “fitting in” doesn’t involve revealing yourself. In this book, you begin to understand how “fitting in” isn’t easy and being yourself is a dangerous game. I really liked the message of this book. Howe perfectly it catches how popularity is a risky exchange: trading who you really are for what people want you to be. When Howe writes of Addie’s troubles, the reader can tell that Addie is different, but she makes being different a good thing. Addie is herself, not a popular girl, but she gets bullied for it. I also liked the author’s writing style. He wrote the book in poems and rhymes that describe Addie’s life. It’s a very clever way of telling the story. Howe also talks about the characters in a very detailed way. He perfectly captures what kind of personality each character would have, which makes them feel real. I particularly liked Addie’s character. She is kind, smart, a bit of a “know-it-all”, and doesn’t let anyone tell her who to be. Our heroine doesn’t worry about normal teenage girl things like hair, boys, and makeup. Addie worries about war, polar bears going extinct, global warming, and injustice. Her concerns include the plight of Afghanistan girls, who are forced to get married at a very young age to form pacts between tribes. As if these things weren’t enough to alienate her from the “in crowd”, her love for school makes most of the popular people like her even less. One memorable thing about this book is how Addie discovers who she is. Throughout the book Addie is trying to fit in by being herself, but she can’t. As the book goes on Addie starts to realize no matter what she does, being herself won’t make her popular. Along with that realization, Addie discovers that being unpopular and being you can be a happy option too.
Review by Julie, grade 6, Tuckahoe Area Library
